​Symptoms of burnout

• Feeling empty or desolate
• No longer experience enjoyment or fulfillment at work
• Lack motivation to do anything
• Can’t be bothered to see friends
• Tired all the time
• Cry easily or just feel overwhelmed
• Loss of direction in life
• Headaches or digestive problems

 
Often this will be preceded by an extended period of overwork or high stress in your job, or in your personal life. You may have a tendency to work too long, take on too much without enough downtime, or an inability to say no when others want something from you. Your physical condition may deteriorate as you make do with quick, poor quality meals & snacks, and lack of exercise due to insufficient time, or not enough energy.
 
Burnout can happen at any age, and requires first a recognition of the state you have fallen into, and then the decision to seek help in order to recover your energy and zest for life. If you recognize the above in yourself, you have already taken the first step. For assistance call Sunshine Coast Kinesiologist and Nutritionist Karen Emans on 0408 748 532

​
Does Slight Caloric Restriction Prolong Life?
Reducing calorie intake by just 15% prolongs life, and gives health benefits against chronic disease according to a study published in the journal Cell Metabolism this month. This could be as easy as exchanging a blueberry muffin for an apple at morning tea time, or swapping your regular cappuccino with 1 sugar, for a cup of green or black tea.
 


​Caloric restriction works in the cell by:
1. Stimulating Sirtuins, a family of enzymes that switch our genes on and off
2. Increasing activity of AMPK, an enzyme that helps regulate cellular energy production
3. Reducing mTOR (mechanistic Target Of Rapamycin) a protein associated with faster cellular aging
4. Reducing senescence, which is when ageing cells can no longer divide & promote inflammation
5. Stimulating autophagy, the elimination of old or damaged cells
 
Certain dietary polyphenols may also help stimulate these factors:

• Resveratrol a polyphenol in red grapes, berries and red wine has been found to activate Sirtuins along with a cofactor called NAD made in the cell from a type of B3 - Nicotinamide Riboside.
• Hesperidin a flavonoid found in oranges and lemons has also been shown to stimulate AMPK activity, it may thereby improve insulin sensitivity and blood glucose
• Quercetin is a flavonoid that gives pigment to fruits and vegetables may possess senolytic properties, along with theaflavins from black tea
• Resveratrol and Curcumin, have also been shown to stimulate healthy autophagy

 
For assistance with identifying a healthy personalized diet for your body call
Sunshine Coast Nutritionist Karen Emans 0408 748 52 

Australian geneticist Dr David Sinclair PhD is currently researching longevity at Harvard Medical School. In his 2019 book “Why we age - and Why we don’t have to” he gives us some practical tips on how to activate vital cellular processes to help keep our body youthful and energetic, something most of us definitely want!
 
David tells us of a busy little intracellular molecule called Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD+) a Coenzyme manufactured in all living cells, which is vital to the production of energy, and to hundreds of essential biological processes. It falls by 40% between the ages of 40 and 60, and continues falling as we get older. This is the reason we start feeling more tired as the years go by, than we did in our 20s and 30s.
 
The good news is that there are ways to stimulate our cells to make more NAD+ and one of those is to provide its nutritional precursor. Each cell in our body can turn a special type of Vitamin B3 called Nicotinamide Riboside  into NAD+. A human trial showed that supplementing with a standardized dose of NR for 2 months was able to increase NAD+ by 40%.
 
As well as facilitating energy production NAD+ also acts as a co-factor for a family of enzymes called Sirtuins which switch genes on and off, & regulate many metabolic functions significant from the standpoint of aging – including DNA repair and genome stability, inflammatory response, apoptosis, and mitochondrial energy production as well as mitochondrial biogenesis. 

If you would like to explore what can be done to increase your energy and vitality call
​Sunshine Coast Nutritionist and Kinesiologist Karen Emans on 0408 748 532

Your Vagus Nerve determines how Anxious, or how Good you Feel
There are twin parts of your autonomic nervous system that control how you feel and function in daily life. The first twin is the Rest and Digest part controlled by the Vagus nerve, when this twin is dominant & Vagal tone is high, you feel calm, relaxed, happy and creative, inflammation is low, you sleep well and life is good!
 
The second twin is the Fight and Flight part which if dominant long term while Vagal tone is low, increasingly creates the experience of anxiety, depression, anger and reactivity, sleep may be poor and life feels like an effort. You often feel tired, cranky and unmotivated, in short, life’s no fun.
 
So you can see that if you want to have a happy life, the tone of your Vagus nerve is vitally important, and if there were a way to improve Vagal tone and access its benefits you might be very interested in knowing about that & using it. The Vagus nerve is very VERY long, beginning at the base of your brain, & running down through all the organs in your chest and abdomen.
The interesting thing about this nerve is that it has fibers carrying information in both directions, up to the brain and down to the organs - and 90% of those fibers are taking data up! 
 
How can we Increase Vagal tone?
Because the Vagus nerve runs so extensively through the larynx, lungs, diaphragm & abdomen there are a number of simple effective ways to increase Vagal tone by actively using these areas daily including:

• Singing
• Humming
• The Breath of Life

 
What is The Breath of Life?
Now you may not be much of a singer or hummer, but everyone can breathe.
The Breath of Life is a particular way of breathing - have you ever seen a baby sleeping? Their little tummy rises and falls slowly and naturally with the breath. We are going to use that kind of slow relaxed breathing to increase our Vagal tone.
This is how you can do it:

• Set the timer on your phone for 10 minutes, or more if you have the time
• Sit comfortably with your back straight, you can lie down if you wish
• Close your eyes, or look at something neutral like the wall (not your computer screen)
• Clear your mind of thoughts and be totally present in this moment
• Place your awareness on your abdomen below the navel
• Inhale slowly to a count of 4 (don’t think, just focus on the breath and the slow count)
• Exhale slowly to a count of 6 – 8 (as you exhale let go & relax more deeply)
• As you become familiar with the basic practice, you can try adding a word like ‘peace’ or ‘love’ as the first count of your exhalation, feeling peace or love surrounding you.

 
Ideally practice the Breath of Life for 10 minutes 3 times a day to increase Vagal tone, & notice the changes that occur in how you feel and the quality of your life & relationships with those around you. Those changes should be noticeable right from the first day, but will become more obvious after about 2 weeks of regular practice. Everyone can fit 10 minutes into their day somewhere, so be consistent and give it a go to see how much better you can feel.
 
For assistance call Karen Emans at Sunshine Coast Kinesiology on 0408748532.

Can the microbes in your gut affect anxiety levels?
There are 100 trillion bacterial organisms in a healthy human gut. Scientists tell us that there are certain species of gut bacteria called ‘psychobiotics’ which may be beneficial in modifying feelings of anxiety or depression.

The type of food you eat, how much sugar you have, and various lifestyle factors like having a pet, gardening, spending time in the country, stress levels, and physical exercise all affect the populations of bacteria in your gut.
 
Have you heard of the neurotransmitter Serotonin? Its often referred to as 'the happy hormone' and 90% of it is manufactured not in the brain, but by cells in the gut. Supplementing with healthy probiotics and eating foods naturally providing them, or prebiotic fibrous food which feed them, may assist you in keeping your gut and brain in a healthy state. In addition it seems that pathogenic bacteria in the gut may induce anxiety like behaviors mediated by the Vagus nerve, part of which runs from the gut directly to the brain.
 
Sauerkraut is a traditional fermented food containing naturally occurring probiotics including Lactobacillus Rhamnosus which is considered a psychobiotic which may be helpful in reducing anxiety and depression. A study published in 2011 suggests it does this by stimulating GABBA receptors in the brain via the Vagus Nerve. (Adverse changes in GABBA receptor expression in the brain are part of the development of anxiety and depression)
 
Kefir contains the beneficial bacteria Lactobacillus Casei which was shown to improve mood in a study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition in March 2007.
 
High fiber foods like vegetables, whole grains, beans and lentils if you can tolerate them, are among the foods which can provide prebiotic food for the healthy bacteria in your gut.
 
.
If you would like to improve the health of your gut bacteria and discover what foods suit your body,
call Sunshine Coast Nutritionist Karen Emans on 0408748532 for an appointment.

​Collagen is a type of protein that gives strength and support to many of the body’s structures including your skin, ligaments, joint cartilage and your bones. Collagen and Elastin together maintain the skin's youthful appearance. As we age, we make less of these youthful proteins. This is when the skin begins to lose its elasticity, wrinkles begin to form & it starts to sag, joint cartilage deteriorates, and bones gradually lose their strength.
 
A study published in the journal Skin pharmacology and Physiology found that when women took a collagen supplement for   8 weeks, they had significantly increased elasticity and moisture levels in their skin, which of course gives the skin a more youthful appearance.  
 
There are several different types of collagen

• Type I and Type III form the skin, muscles and bones, ligaments and tendons
• Type II forms the cartilage in joints

 
Sources of Collagen
Bone Broth is a valuable source of collagen, and Hydrolyzed Collagen is available as a powder you can mix into your morning smoothie. Nutrients which assist the body in making its own collagen along with adequate protein include Zinc and vitamin C.
 
Collagen destroying Foods to avoid
Sugar can cross link with Collagen in the body producing 'Advanced Glycation End Products' (AGEs) thus ageing the skin and the rest of the body. Inflammation resulting from eating foods not good for your particular body type also breaks down collagen.

If you would like to improve your skin, muscle and bone health call Sunshine Coast Nutritionist Karen Emans on 0408748532 for an appointment to discover what foods suit your own body.

​Its official - feeling grateful is good for us!! You always knew that right? Well now it’s been proven. Professor of positive mental health Ernst Bohlmeijer from the University of Twente has recently published a 6-week study with 217 people, showing that training yourself to practice gratitude increases your mental resilience, flexibility and feeling of well-being. Even better, the positive effects remained evident for 6 months after the training finished.
 
So what exactly is gratitude & how do you cultivate it?

• - Deliberately focusing attention on what’s good in your life
• - Keeping a gratitude journal & recording 3 things that went well each day
• - Consciously taking pleasure in the simple things in life - (beauty, good friends, delicious food...)
• - Appreciating things other people do for you & immediately thanking them
• - Being aware of the abundance you have
• - Writing positively about your life each day

 
It's planned that the training delivered in the experiment will become available as a free app in September 2020, but why not start now and incorporate some of these simple suggestions into your life.
If you feel there is some self-sabotage or unresolved stress blocking you from feeling happy, Kinesiology may be able to help you clear the pattern. Call Sunshine Coast Kinesiologist Steve Emans on 0412252321

What is Authentic Happiness and how would you rate your daily happiness quotient out of 10?
It’s a measure of life satisfaction and that feeling of deep-seated well-being, & according to experts it does not come from just a couple of factors but from a number of interconnected things that usually appear together.

Dan Witters is the director of research at the ‘Gallup-Sharecare Well-being Index’ which has been surveying communities in America since 2008 about what brings people happiness.
These are some of the factors he says are most important:
 

10 Interconnected Happiness Triggers

1.  You enjoy using your strengths to do what you do best every day
2. You set meaningful goals and accomplish them regularly
3. You feel safe in your community
4. You have enough money to do what you want to do
5. You learn something interesting often
6. You are actively involved your community
7. You eat healthy food including 5 serves of fruit and veggies at least 5 days a week
8. You do 30 mins of aerobic exercise at least 3 days a week & are normal weight
9. You make time for uplifting shared experiences with friends or family 
10. You are active and feel productive every day

 
They don’t seem too difficult to incorporate into life do they – are there one or two things from the list you could do to increase your experience of authentic happiness?

​If you have unresolved stresses that are interfering with your current  happiness perhaps Kinesiology can help
​ – call Sunshine Coast Kinesiologist Steve Emans on 0412252321 to make an appointment

Why is the Mediterranean Diet so good?
The well known Mediterranean Diet is recognized by the World Health Organisation as a healthy sustainable way of eating. It is a plant based diet that has been shown in many studies to be associated with a longer healthier life, lower incidence of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. All things we want right - so how do we incorporate it into our life?

​

What foods are included in the Mediterranean Diet?
1. Eat more fruit & veggies - include 2 - 3 cups of fresh vegetables at each meal, and 2 pieces of fruit each day
2. Switch from white to brown rice and pasta, and wholegrain or rye bread if you tolerate these grains completely
3. Beans & Nuts are a high fiber source of protein that provide good food for the gut flora, so include them daily
4. Use olive oil instead of butter in cooking, on salads and soup, and on bread or toasted sandwiches
5. Include Fish twice a week - fresh or tinned, salmon, tuna, sardines, cod, mackerel.... just not deep fried please
6. Reduce red meat consumption to only once or twice a week
7. Small amounts of Dairy as Greek Yogurt or goats cheese, not much milk -  avoid completely if you are dairy intolerant
8. Chicken & eggs a couple of times weekly can be a healthy inclusion
9. Red wine is acceptable up to 2 standard drinks a day - remember this is only 200ml daily - less than one cup
10. Dark 70% chocolate in small amounts is also fine (dairy milk chocolate is over 50% sugar!)

Other ingredients in the Mediterranean Lifestyle
- Be physically active - walk, cycle, swim, climb stairs, dance, go to the gym, do pilates or yoga.....
- Socialise daily, eat meals with family and friends, connect with people you care about face to face, communicate

Research tells us that in countries where these things come together the people are happier, and healthier right into old age so why not learn what we can from them? To consider your personal nutritional needs call Sunshine Coast Nutritionist and Kinesiologist Karen Emans on 0408 748 532

​Calorie Restriction is well known as an effective longevity strategy across many species from yeast organisms to primates. The desire to live long and die young is a natural human wish, but not many of us have the discipline to reduce our food intake long term. A study comparing the benefits of Resveratrol supplementation with calorie restriction was published online in the journal Oncotarget, on 9 August 2019, suggesting it may provide a viable alternative in our search for healthy ageing.
 
Resveratrol is a polyphenol found in plants like red grapes & berries, and peanuts among many others. What the researchers found is that Resveratrol supplementation and calorie restriction exhibited similar anti-ageing activities. They both inhibited senescence (loss of an ageing cells ability to reproduce), had a restorative effect on cognitive impairment & memory, increased telomerase activity (an enzyme that repairs telomeres at the end of our chromosomes allowing cells to continue reproducing), and increased SIRT1 (an enzyme that silences detrimental genes). Increased levels of AMPK which stimulates energy production in our mitochondria was also noted, providing more available energy which we all want. Of course these are very desirable outcomes for those who wish to maintain a youthful body and mind into old age.
For an appointment to discuss your personal needs call Sunshine Coast Nutritionist Karen Emans on 0408 748 532